Bacterial Biofilm Eradication in Human Infections

*Chin Erick Ngehdzeka and Zeuko'o Menkem Elisabeth*

### **Abstract**

Microbial biofilms are elaborate and highly resistant aggregates formed on surfaces or medical devices, causing two-thirds of infections and leading to a serious threat to public health. Their presence increases the rate of infections and mortality in the affected individuals. The strategies and eradication patterns are necessary to be established or implemented to eliminate them in human beings. This chapter highlights recent approaches for combating bacterial biofilms, including the methods used by promising antibiofilm compounds to enhance the total elimination of bacterial biofilms involved in some specific human infections. Biofilms must be eradicated to ensure efficient treatment of the infections.

**Keywords:** bacterial biofilms, eradication, human infections, resistance, aggregates

### **1. Introduction**

Bacterial drug resistance and biofilm infections can result in a wide range of diseases and associated complications, such as sepsis, endocarditis, pneumonia, and even death in the worst scenarios [1, 2]. Bacterial biofilms are complex and elaborate microbial communities that are very resistant and readily colonizing the surfaces of organs or medical implants to cause intractable and recurring infections [3]. They have a large spectrum of activities ranging from nosocomial setting, especially linked to lower respiratory, urinary tract, and surgical wound infections as well as the medical devices used during treatment resulting to a serious challenge to patients' health [4]. Bacteria tend to work in synergy and create groups to achieve resistance about 10–1000 times on antibiotics and the human immune system [3, 4], while also secreting various virulence factors in certain cases [2]. The arrangement of bacteria in the biofilm in a micro-colony shape enclosed in an extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) of the matrix, is the highest surviving mechanisms of biofilms giving them more resilience and versatility [5]. Fleming's discovery of penicillin in 1928 marked the advent of antibiotics and the subsequent production of several antibiotics has been a lifesaving against bacterial infections [6]. Many strategies are being used today to control and eradicate important biofilms that ranges from drugs and cell methods to non-biological modern technologies. These include novel antibiotics and their carriers, bacteriophage and its components, antiseptics and disinfectants, small molecule anti-biofilm agents, surface treatment strategies, ultrasound-induced microbubbles,

nanomaterials and nanostructure functionalization, as well as multifunctional coating [4, 7, 8]. This chapter therefore, highlights recent approaches for combating bacterial biofilms, including methods used by promising antibiofilm compounds to enhance the total elimination of bacterial biofilms involved in some specific human infections.
